User Guide

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Intel
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Rapid Boot BIOS
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Intel Rapid Boot BIOS
The Intel Rapid Boot BIOS significantly reduces the system boot time by removing features
which do not add value in the HPC environment.
System BIOS Versions
The System BIOS comes in two variants: the production BIOS and the Intel Rapid Boot
BIOS. The production BIOS is the standard Intel System BIOS that ships with the server
board. The Intel Rapid Boot BIOS, as discussed already, is available in this toolkit.
The BIOS versions are also different for single processor (Intel Server Boards S3000AH and
S3000PT) and dual-processor (Intel Server Boards S5000AL and S5000SL) platforms. The
Intel Rapid Boot versions for the supported platforms can be found in the BIOS directory of
the package.
What’s in the BIOS?
The Intel Rapid Boot BIOS performs the initialization of processors and chipsets, enables
devices and buses, and then hands over the system to the user-created payload in flash.
The Intel Rapid Boot BIOS also generates ACPI tables with the necessary system
information that are handed off to the payload for the Operating System boot.
The features that Intel Rapid Boot BIOS supports include:
• CPU
o Intel Server Boards S5000AL and S5000SL - Dual-Core Intel
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Xeon
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processor 5100 and Quad-Core Intel
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Xeon
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processor 5300 are supported.
o Intel Server Boards S3000AH and S3000PT - Dual-Core Intel
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processor
E6000 series and Quad-Core Intel
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processor Q6000 series are supported.
o Multiple Processor Initialization
If multiple processors are present in the system, Rapid Boot BIOS initializes
all of them.
o Intel dual-core and quad-core support
Intel Rapid Boot BIOS initializes all processor cores, installs all NMI handlers
for all dual/quad core processors, leaves initialized AP in CLI/HLT loop and
initializes stack for all APs.
o Microcode support
Intel Architecture 32-bit processors can correct specific errata by loading an
Intel-supplied data block, known as a microcode update. The BIOS stores the
update in non-volatile memory and loads it into each processor during POST.
Ref# D96629-001 Intel
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Rapid Boot Toolkit User Guide 9